While Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers continue to occupy the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala in the West Bank, Israeli troops withdrew from Ramallah and Al-Bireh after 3 consecutive days of total military occupation, siege, and curfew. The Israeli decision comes shortly before US envoy Anthony Zinni is scheduled to meet with President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah this evening.

Meanwhile, residents of Ramallah and Al-Bireh woke up this morning to the horrific images of damaged buildings, destroyed roads, and most painfully, to the noise of funeral processions that filled both Ramallah and Al-Bireh with tens of thousands of mourners; again, the silence of terrified Palestinian civilians stranded in their homes for days was broken by the familiar noises of funerals. Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinians in Ramallah and wounded 55 since its reoccupation of the town late on Monday.

Various shops in Ramallah city center have been destroyed, some completely demolished by tank shells. Israeli tanks also destroyed various main roads in Ramallah during the past three days, with the intention of preventing Palestinian medical staff from rescuing the injured, many of whom were left to die in the streets.

Israel's policies and measures against the Palestinian people, whether in its occupation of Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, or any other Palestinian town, village, or refugee camp, are a crime against humanity, and a direct violation of the most sacred human rights, the right to life itself.

The international community is morally and legally bound to take a clear stance against Israel's atrocities, and to provide immediate protection to the Palestinian people.